


Walking This Line

by ABCsoup



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gang World, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, BAMF Sheriff Stilinski, Everyone has really questionable morals, Gang Related (Fox) Fusion, Gang Violence, Lawyer Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Police Officer Derek, The McCalls run a gang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-13 13:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2152449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABCsoup/pseuds/ABCsoup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beacon Hills and its surrounding areas have become a hotbed for drug violence. To stop the drug trade, Captain Stilinski must topple the empires of the major gangs that control the city. Luckily, he's handpicked only the best for his team on the Gang Task Force. Unluckily, some of them might have different motives for being on the team. And of course, his son, Stiles, has to go poking his head around in everything.</p><p>"My name is Derek Hale. After my family died, the McCalls and Los Lobos took me in and raised me as one of their own. To protect them, I was asked to go undercover as a member of the BHPD. Now I must walk the line between cop and criminal without being exposed."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Derek Hale was a fantastic driver.

His best friend and partner, Danny Mahalani, would probably disagree.

But he had no room to complain, as Derek kept up with the armored truck well enough that Danny could take shots at the hijackers, trying to blow out their tires. He managed to corral them onto a side street, away from innocent civilians. They crashed to a stop. Derek and Danny jumped out of their truck, guns out.

“BHPD, show me your hands!” Derek yelled. Danny repeated his words.

“Dude, that was awesome,” he said as an aside to Derek.

Derek rolled his eyes. But secretly, he had to admit, it was awesome. This was the moment cops lived for.

Back at the Gang Task Force Headquarters, Erica whooped at their arrival, everyone else joining in for appreciation of the takedown earlier that afternoon. The normally quiet Boyd gave a small cheer, and even Lydia Martin looked up from her computer long enough to give a small “Congrats!”

Danny smirked, confidently. “Thank you, thank you,” he bowed before everyone. “No need for celebration, me and Derek here are just doing our jobs,” he said with false humility. “We’re just doing them a little bit better than all of you.”

“That was my lead that got you that bust!” Erica protested.

“Oh, okay, I’ll give you half a mark,” Danny conceded, turning to mark the Best of Beacon Hills whiteboard with half a tally mark under Erica’s name. As it stood, Danny was in the lead with 15 more tally marks than Derek, who was in second, with 4 marks.

They only had one whiteboard marker, and Danny always hid it somewhere no one else could find it.

“Good work today,” Captain Stilinski, their boss, praised them as he came out of his office. “We’ve got more scum off the streets of our city today. But we still have work to do. Boyd?”

“DEA got wind of a new type of cocaine popping up on the streets. It’s called ‘Mountain Ash’ and it’s potent. We have reason to believe a shipment is heading our way.”

“To the Devenford Lords?” Stilinski asked.

“Yes,” Boyd clarified.

“Walk with me,” he told them all, and gathered them in one of the conference rooms.

Derek had been hand chosen by Stilinski to make up a valuable part of his Gang Force Task team, not a choice to be taken lightly. After two tours in Iraq and a stint at the academy to be proper police, Derek had stood out to Stilinski as someone he wanted to surround himself with, someone he could trust.

In the conference room, Stilinski had set up a variety of pictures. Derek easily recognized the faces.

“Up to this point, Los Lobos has tried to corner the market on Mountain Ash,” Stilinski explained, referring to one of the most prominent Beacon County gangs. Pointing at one of the photos of a man, he continued, “Their leader, Rafael McCall, will do whatever it takes to keep their rivals, the Devenford Lords, out of it.” He let that information sink in.

“If this trade goes through with the Lords, we’re looking at a full-scale gang war,” Derek said.

The older man nodded. “We have to do whatever we can to prevent that from happening. We’ve been doing good work. But if we stop this? This could make a real dent.”

After work, Danny convinced him to go for drinks.

“We did good today, partner!” he said, as Derek escorted him out the door, barely keeping him from stumbling.

“We do good everyday, Danny.”

“True! True, true.”

He watched hesitantly as Danny walked toward his car. “You’re calling a cab, right?”

“Nah man, I got it,” he said as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

“Danny,” he warned.

“What’re ya gonna do, officer?” Danny mocked. “Ooh, how about you give me a field sobriety test, huh? Yessir!”

“I'm calling you a cab,” he huffed. He’d just pulled his phone out when they both heard a noise in the alley to their left. Danny’s head jerked to find the source of the noise and his eyes lit up like a dog seeing a tennis ball. A kid spraypainting the wall.

“A tagger, Hale! Come on, let’s scare the hell out of him,” he said, already running off to the alley. Derek protested, but he ultimately ended up chasing Danny, chasing the tagger.

He reluctantly followed Danny’s footsteps into an old warehouse, where everything got suspiciously quiet.

“Danny?” he called. He got no answer. Pulling out his flashlight to explore the darkness better, he saw what appeared to be fresh bloodstains. His heart wrenching in his chest, he followed the trail.

He stopped when he saw the body. He knelt down to check the pulse, just in case, but found the body slightly chilled to a temperature that definitely suggested more ‘dead’ than 'alive.' As quietly as possible, he called in the body and their location, with the phone he still had in his hand. Then he got up, desperate now more than ever to find Danny before harm came to him.

Gunshots echoed in the warehouse and Derek jumped.

“Danny!” he yelled, no longer worried about being seen. He moved quickly to the area he thought the shots had originated from, to find a room illuminated by a single lightbulb.

He found Danny on the floor, blood flowing freely from his chest.

“I’m here, Danny, don’t worry, I got you,” he said, pressing his hand against the bullet wound in his friend’s chest. “Where is he?” he asked urgently, pointing his gun in a direction that seemed logical for the shooter to have retreated to.

“Over there,” Danny gasped, indicating a doorway with his eyes. Derek caught sight of a shadowy silhouette and trained his gun on it.

“Drop your weapon, now!” he demanded.

The silhouette responded in a tone far too familiar for Derek’s taste. “Is that you, orphan?” Derek didn’t reply, but lowered his weapon a few millimeters.  “It is, isn’t it? Little orphan Annie,” the shadow sing-songed. Derek’s blood ran cold. “Easy, fool,” the man grunted.

“What’d you do, Isaac?”

“Easy,” he asked him again, rougher this time. Derek acquiesced, lowering his weapon completely. Danny looked at him, alarmed. He had no idea how he was going to explain this.

“You shot a cop!” Derek yelled, rightfully pissed. “He’s my partner!”

“So what?” Isaac said, rolling his eyes. “You’re family, no?”

Danny’s eyes rolled back in horror. Derek forgot about Isaac temporarily.

“Hey, hey! I got you, you just got to hold on.” Danny didn’t reply. “Isaac! He’s dying, you got to do something!” Isaac looked at him in disbelief. “Danny! Danny, stay with me!” Derek cried, blood coating his arms. Danny’s neck went slack, and he knew he was gone. “No, no, no,” he moaned.

Danny had been Derek’s partner since the beginning. They’d gone on countless raids with each other. They were the perfect pair. Danny’s lighthearted, easygoing personality had a charm to it that perfectly complimented Derek’s general brooding demeanor. They worked well together. And now he was gone.

Derek didn’t hesitate to pull his gun back on Isaac. Isaac looked him straight in the eye, not believing Derek would really be such a fool to pull a gun on him.

“You gotta be kidding me. Get your damn head on straight, remember whose side you’re really on,” he warned him. “You aren’t really going to act out against my father, after all he’s done for you, are you Derek?” he reminded him, when Derek failed to put his gun down right away.

“You didn’t have to kill him,” he said, as he lowered his gun once again.

“But he saw my face,” Isaac said, his tone taking on a mock innocence. “You didn’t,” he reminded him.

Then he shot Derek.

And knocked him out cold with a blow to the head, for good measure.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Derek woke in the hospital, to a nurse telling him he was lucky. The shot had been to the arm, and relatively benign, missing all major arteries and muscle.

Lucky.

Derek wouldn’t say luck had a lot to do with it. Though he supposed he was a little lucky Isaac hadn’t just “accidentally” offed him then and there.

 

Derek had never gotten along with Isaac McCall. Born Isaac Lahey, he had been legally adopted by the McCalls when he was 3, before Derek and his family had even set foot in Beacon Hills. He was blood.

Like Derek was blood, now. But Isaac had always felt threatened by Derek. Even before Rafael had officially taken him in, when he’d only been Scott’s best friend.

He remembered a particular Fourth of July. Scott had invited him over, on Los Lobos turf. Derek had nabbed some alcohol and gone over. Isaac had been royally pissed. He’d told Derek off for daring to step foot on Los Lobos land, even when Scott had protested that he’d invited him, anyway. Isaac demanded he give him his watch, as payment.

Derek would give the devil his soul before he gave Isaac his watch. It had been his father’s before him, and Isaac knew it. So he’d stood there, taking Isaac’s beating.

At least until their father had stepped in. Rafael McCall, leader of Los Lobos gang that had a strong grip on the community. He was powerful. He was infamous. He told Isaac to back off.

Derek still remembers the way the firelight reflected in Rafael’s brown eyes when he said he knew his father. When he said Derek had his father’s strength. When he essentially made him family.

 

He owed who he was today to Rafael McCall. He could never forget it.

 

“When can I get back to work?” he asked the nurse.

‘That’s up to you, I’ll see about getting you discharged,” she answered, leaving the room. He immediately pulled out his IV, just in time to get caught by his captain coming to check on him.

“Hey, where are you going?” Stilinski asked.

“I can’t just sit here!” Derek said, hoping he’d let him leave without too much of a fight.

“No, Derek, hey, hey. Look at me.” Derek stopped his frantic search for his clothes to meet his eyes. “This wasn’t your fault. There was nothing you could have done.”

Derek sighed. “I don’t know about that, Cap.”

“Well I do know about that. And you know how? Because I know _you_. I brought you onto this task force because you’re a great cop, and we need you. I know what you’re going through, but believe me. You did your best. And you’re not alone, we’re all gonna help.”

Derek closed his eyes, nauseated by the irony of it all.

“Now today, go home,” Stilinski ordered, mistaking his horror for relief. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’re gonna find the son of a bitch that did this,” he promised, handing Derek his clothes. “Together.”

He left the room then, only to be stopped by a younger man. Derek watched from inside.

“What are you doing here?” his captain asked in exasperation.

“This is your third officer-involved shooting since you started up your force,” he said. “My boss has some questions for Hale.”

He was probably the District Attorney, then, Derek thought. But he couldn’t help being a little captivated by a spattering of moles on his cheek, and the general perfection of the profile of his face.

“Well, not now he doesn’t,” Stilinski warned him. "Hale isn't answering any questions now."

“Yes, now!” the younger man exclaimed. He looked through the door to Derek and then averted his gaze quickly. In what Derek guessed was supposed to a quieter whisper, though could only really could be called quiet in comparison to the rather loud shouting of before, he gasped, “Oh my god, is that Hale? Tall, dark, and handsome?”

Stilinski rolled his eyes. "You keep your hands off my people. He's too old for you, anyway."

"I can do older," the man assured him, before quickly schooling his face into a perfect mask of professionalism. "But really, I need to ask him a few things."

“Stiles, that kid just lost his partner,” Stilinski reprimanded him. “He’s in no shape to be answering any cock and bull questions from the DA’s office.”

“You need to let me do my job,” Stiles said, with an undercurrent of annoyance in his tone that suggested this was not the first argument they'd had about Stiles' job.

“I will let you do your job! Just, not today,” he said. The words only soured Stiles' gaze further. “Please. This isn't about you.”

"Aw, shucks, Pa, you're right," he said, utterly caustic. "Whatever you say, you know best. Always keeping me out of everything." He gave him a long, spiteful look, before stomping away.

“I love you, too,” his father muttered sarcastically.

  


Erica had also dropped by to check on him, and ended up driving him home.

“Take it easy, Hale, okay?” she said gently. Derek only nodded.

As soon as she drove off, he left his house again. He knew he needed to check in with the McCalls.

He walked straight in the back door of the McCall’s nightclub. The security didn’t bat an eye. He found Rafael and Scott alone in one of the back rooms.

“Derek,” Scott greeted him.

“What’s wrong?” Rafael asked him, knowing that Derek had not planned to show up today.

“Fun times last night, huh?” Isaac called from where Derek now noticed him, lurking in the corner. He couldn’t help it. He lunged at him. They grappled for a bit, Scott trying but failing to hold him back. Ultimately, it was Rafael that pulled Isaac away, throwing him into the hallway.

“Get out,” he warned him. Turning back to Derek, he apologized. “I’m sorry, Derek. I’m sorry for what happened to your partner. But it was an accident.”

“No!” Derek shouted. “It was no accident, you know that. You know how Isaac is. I watched him. He enjoyed it.”

“He is my son.”

“I’ve done everything you asked me to,” “Military, BCPD, no questions asked. But last night was wrong. I didn’t sign up to kill innocent people.”

“I know, I know, Derek,” Rafael tried to calm him. “But it was an accident. Isaac came across a huge shipment of Mountain Ash. He didn’t have time to warn you. And your partner just happened to come along, wrong time, wrong place.”

“Rafael,” he started. “I know my job. Protect the family. I provide you information, but if you don’t let me know what’s going on, what’s the point?”

“Between Scott’s bank and my property investments, we’re this close to making it out. We can finally get clean. And I need you. I can’t do that without you.”

“This is a dangerous line I’m walking, Raf.”

Rafael smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Derek, I will never let anything happen to you. You know that, right?” Derek nodded. “Everything we hope for is gonna be ours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking I'll just update every Thursday, and very, very tentatively, I'm thinking the whole story should be around 15 chapters long.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why I thought I was capable of sticking to a schedule. It's all lies. I can't be consistent with posting and it was ridiculous to think that I could. Just like, expect a new chapter roughly once a week. If I ever go more than two weeks, then I give you license to yell at me. I mean, this has been written for ages, I was just too lazy to go back and edit it until now.

Back at headquarters, Derek sat in a chair back in the same conference room as the day before, waiting with the other for their captain. It was strange, everything was the same, the same photos plastered up on the boards, but Danny was gone.

Erica didn’t even fight him for the last chair today, on account of being shot. He kind of wished she had.

“We’ve spent too long sitting and waiting,” Captain Stilinski announced as he walked in. “And this is what happens when we’re reactive. We need to be proactive, and we need to hit these gangs where it hurts. Not at their leaders- we’ve been doing that for years. We’re gonna try something new. We’re going to go after the things they can’t replace.”

A cold feeling started growing in Derek’s stomach. Please be talking about anything else. There was only one thing he knew Rafael couldn’t replace, the whole reason Derek was sitting here in this room.

“Family,” Stilinski said. “Wives, friends, children. Anyone who profits from their illegal enterprise. After all, they’re not really innocent, are they?” he asked.

 

Scott was innocent. Derek had never met a more innocent man in his life. He didn’t deserve this. Scott was clean, no matter what the rest of them did. They all agreed on that, that’s why Raf had sent him to college in the first place. He was the reason they were trying to get clean. He was the biggest reason Derek protected this family, because it sure wasn’t for Isaac.

 

“Hell no!” Erica yelped in excited agreement..

“How are we going to do that?” Boyd asked.

“We have to build cases against them, get them behind bars. This is how we get results. Stopping this Mountain Ash deal,” here he paused to look at Derek, “and finding out who killed Danny. This is how we win.”

The silence in the room was so penetrating, you could hear a pin drop from the hallway. It was Lydia that finally broke it. “Let’s get to work, people!”

**xxxxx**

On the pretense of going to talk to one of his informants, he left the others to follow their own leads and shot a quick text to the adopted brother he still held affection for.

_I think there’s supposed to be a full moon tonight._

It was code; in reality, the night’s moon was waxing. The full moon referred to a spot just outside town, in the preserve, where the boys used to play. There were rolling hills, bordered by an open field on one side, and the dense forest on the other. You could see for miles atop the tallest hill, the city and the sky, but it was remote enough that no one should happen upon them by accident. Derek’s older sister had shown him the spot, not far from their home. He and his sisters had been allowed to camp out there, usually on full moon nights, when the moon looked so close you could touch it, and Laura and him had teased Cora that it was made of cheese. Sometimes the rest of the family stopped by, but it was mostly the siblings’ spot. Until it wasn’t.

Laura had refused to come back without Cora, so Derek had brought Scott one night. And now they used it for secret meetings.

“You sure no one followed you?” he asked, when Scott arrived.

Scott laughed. “I’m sure, dude. No one followed.”

He moved with him so they could catch the view of the city from the top of the hill. “I used to love sitting here,” Derek reminded him. “I always thought the city was so beautiful.” He laughed wryly. “Now all I see is a battle map.”

Scott looked at him sadly. “I heard... I heard Isaac talking. I know what he did. I’m sorry, man.”

“He was my partner, my friend. And he didn’t deserve it. But I watched Isaac kill him, and I didn’t do a thing. He’s free. What does that make me?”

“Derek, I know this has been hard on you. But I’m opening a bank. Dad’s told you, right? And it’s gonna be good, bro. It’s gonna be good. You’re going to be able to get out of this life, come work for me, not have to worry about this double life stuff,” Scott said with a grin.

Derek shook his head. “I’m not a banker, Scott.”

Scott looked at him. “You’re not a cop either, bro.”

“What if I’m starting to think I am?”

“I know you, Derek. And you know what you are? You’re my friend. And my brother. And a good man. Whatever happened last night doesn’t change that.”

He was struck by a sudden, strong appreciation for the younger man, and remembered that he needed to warn him. “Scott, look. What Isaac pulled last night, they’re not letting that go. They want to push back, harder than ever. And they want to bring down anyone related to the family that they can.”

“They can’t bring me down,” Scott said with a dimpled smile. “I’m totally clean.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Derek said sadly. “They’ll find a way.”

**xxxxx**

Derek was the last to arrive back at headquarters. With a shrug, he muttered that he hadn’t learned anything useful.

“I took Boyd down with me to talk to one of my CI’s,” Erica said. “Major Mountain Ash deal is going down tomorrow,” she gave him a smug, gloating look.

“He warned us to stay out of it,” Boyd said, joining the conversation. “We’re not the only ones out for justice. That body you found in the warehouse, Derek? One of the higher-ups twin brother.”

“They like their justice a bit more bloody than us, though,” Erica said.

“And I got the shooter’s name,” Lydia chimed in. “Took some persuasion on my part,” she stopped to wink a flirtatious eye and give a dangerous, feral grin before continuing, “but I talked to the tagger you mentioned. He witnessed the shooting before high-tailing it out of there, but not before he recognized the shooter’s face.”

Erica and Boyd looked like they’d already heard the information, and Lydia was only looking at him expectantly.

“Who?” Derek finally asked.

“Isaac McCall,” she answered with a beaming smile.

**xxxxx**

The next day was Saturday, one that he technically had off. With all the recent gang activity going on though, he figured it was only a matter of time before he got called back to the station. Everyone kind of assumed Derek was a broody loner with no friends that never had plans, so he was always the first one that would get called if anyone needed help.

It was only half true. He actually did have plans today, but then again, he couldn't exactly tell his boss that he was attending the birthday party of Scott McCall this afternoon.

The party was being held at their father's house, in the backyard. Luckily it was large, giving Derek the opportunity to keep a wide berth between him and Isaac.

He found Scott talking to Deaton, Rafael's closest friend and right-hand man. Scott idolized the man, and Derek had to admit he had an easy-going, if not cryptic, personality, and seldom gave bad advice.

"Derek," Deaton greeted him warmly. "Did you hear Scott's opening his bank soon?"

Derek nodded. Truly, everyone was proud of Scott. He wished him a happy birthday, and mumbled an excuse about going to see Melissa when he saw Isaac drawing near.

Derek looked around for the matriarch of the McCall family, but instead made eye contact with a slim brunette on the patio. She smiled at him.

“Derek!” she greeted him with a hug.

“Allison,” he nodded.

She laughed like she knew how uncomfortable he felt. “It’s nice seeing you,” she said. “It’s been awhile.”

It had been awhile. She'd grown into a stunning young woman. He still remembered her as a 14 year old girl, with gentle eyes and rounded curves. Now her eyes were fierce; her skin still soft, but now concealing sinewy muscle. The difference between a lion cub and a lioness.

They’d been close, before. She, Derek, and Kate had hung out all the time. She and Kate had been more like sisters than anything else, and he and Kate were in love, so it made sense, despite the age differences between all three of them.

He knew it wasn’t entirely fair. But a part of him blamed Allison. She must have known, she had to have known. He thought they had been friends, but that betrayal wasn’t one he could get over. Besides that, every time he looked in Allison’s eyes, he saw Kate’s.

Looking in her eyes now, he could see that little glint of maliciousness that had framed Kate’s. She knew he was uncomfortable now but she was going to force him into conversation so she could keep the upper hand. Why was she even here?

“In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen you since you were deployed,” Allison continued.

Derek didn’t know what to say. That he’d kept it that way on purpose? She knew that already, too. Even if it was Rafael that had first come to him, a month after Scott had left for college, asking if he’d be interested in joining the army. He’d had a mole in Beacon County Police Department at the time, of course, but not one he could trust like Derek. And Rafael was always thinking five steps ahead, of the mole’s inevitable betrayal, of Derek’s chances of getting accepted into the police academy being greatly improved if he’d had military experience and a valid career history. Even if it was Rafael that had been thinking these things, ultimately, it was Derek that had agreed to it right away. Even Rafael’s careful calculations were surprised by that.

He hadn’t known that Derek was running.

But Allison had.

It was probably even better that way, that Allison would be blinded by the fact that Derek was running from his problems, from her aunt, so she would never even suspect Derek’s true role in the family.

If Derek had learned one thing, it was to never trust an Argent.

He sighed in relief as their conversation was interrupted by the clinking of a glass.  He looked to see Scott preparing a toast.

“A toast,” he bagan. “To all of you. I couldn’t ask for a better family or a better birthday.”

Derek smiled at Scott. When it came down to it, above everything else, when things got tough... He really loved this family.

“What better time to ask my beautiful girlfriend to marry me,” he continued. Derek looked at him, puzzled. Scott was seeing someone? And it was serious? Why hadn’t he known?

“Allison Argent, will you make me the happiest man in the world, and marry me?” he asked. Derek could only stare.

“Yes!” Allison squealed, throwing her arms around his brother.

He clapped along with everyone else, trying to swallow the cold feeling in his stomach, and to forget blonde hair floating in the wind and the overpowering smell of smoke.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is a ridiculous Gang Related Fusion.
> 
> Gang Related is a show on Fox. It’s one season, and based on ratings, it probably won’t see another. So to address my feelings after watching the finale, I am writing this Teen Wolf fic. Ironically, I’m going to change the storyline into everything I hate (Basically this is going to be a love story, while the reason I loved Gang Related so much was because it was not a love story. I’m full of contradictions.) but in the beginning, the storylines should be fairly similar. Until I finally start getting original and everything takes a radical turn into wtfville. I'm sticking really close to the pilot episode for the first few chapters, because it does a good job setting things up, so if you've seen it, it may feel very familiar, but I promise I'll stop ripping off other people's tv shows soon. And it should get a little less choppy after that, as well. Novelizing tv show episodes isn't my forte.


End file.
